Munich Re uses big data to develop new coverages

Munich Re is taking advantage of big data opportunities to develop new insurance solutions and services in conjunction with clients and partners.

Extended IT and analytic competence is already being utilised, for example, in the early detection and trend analysis of fire losses, Munich Re said.

The company claims that digitalisation and new technologies mean that far greater volumes of data are becoming available for evaluation within a much shorter time frame. Data analysis can be used to examine client portfolios to reveal trends, improve processes, optimise holdings, and provide targeted support to sales.

“The more global and comprehensive the data basis, the more valuable the data will be. The new dimensions of data and their analysis require some competences that not all insurance companies have. New competitors may be able to analyse data sets more quickly and apply the results in new applications – thus placing traditional insurers under pressure,” Munich Re said.

"The most important aspects are the will and ability to invest in sufficient resources and work together with the right partners. That is exactly what we are doing when building up our own know-how and IT structures,” explained Ludger Arnoldussen, member of the board of management of Munich Re.

"It means new, clearly defined and more flexible insurance solutions and support services for our clients. We are seizing these opportunities – with our own resources, and supported by external specialists. We are also regularly involving the clients at an early stage in order to develop perfectly customised solutions and applications that can also be adopted at a global level."

Munich Re added:

“Artificial intelligence will play an increasingly important role in the collection and processing of big data volumes in the future. It is already a fixed part of such processes – for example, in the analysis of large volumes of text and in loss assessments using photo analysis, based on data derived from satellites and drones. Such technology was recently used in the USA, for example, in the wake of Hurricane Matthew.”

"But even in the long term, automation cannot replace strategic decision-making and maintaining good customer relations," stressed Arnoldussen.